1933 Packard Twelve Model 1005 Coupe Roadster

1933 Packard Twelve Model 1005 Coupe Roadster

As strange as it seems to us some 90 years on, it was perfectly logical during the late 1920s that Detroit was fully engulfed in what would later be called the 'Cylinder Wars'. The leading manufacturers of the day competed to see which could be declared 'king of the hill' when it came to the multi-cylinder luxury car market. Cadillac, Auburn, Franklin, Lincoln and Pierce-Arrow all brought out 12-cylinder models in the early- to mid-1930s, just as the Depression took a stranglehold on the world's economy. As Packard was generally acknowledged to have marketed the world's first production V-12 with the 1916 "Twin Six", when their later twelve was introduced in 1932 it quickly became a standard by which others were measured. Its 67° V-block gave it the kind of smooth balance expected of a Packard and indeed when standing by one at idle, it is difficult to discern if it is running or not, such is its level of refinement.

By 1933, with the introduction of the tenth's series Packard and the top line twelve-cylinder cars dubbed simply 'Packard Twelve', the Packard Motor Car Company really had an amazing product, yet further improvements were incorporated on the cars such as improved cooling, a better clutch and smoother suspension. Today this era of Packard production is considered among the very best and most desirable, not just as far as Packard models go, but generally speaking all Classic Era automobiles.

Descriptions and pictures by bonhams